Take Charge
by Caltrop
Summary: A story about the traumatic horrors, mistakes, and bullying all seen through the eyes of a mentally infirm Manectric.
1. Zeus

_Take Charge_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.  
However, I _do_ own all fictional characters in this story.  
**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**

* * *

I stand at the edge of the old St. Croix precipice, staring at the vast ocean as the sun sets. The days are getting shorter, thus signifying that the start of the cold season is approaching. Oh, how I despise the cold season, with the snow and the flus it provides. I figured if I wanted to end it, I'd do it now and spare myself from the upcoming suffering that will ensue.

I tilt my head downwards to gaze at the bottom of the cliff. Powerful waves throw themselves against the large, jagged rocks that protrude from the water at the bottom. These rocks are the leftovers of my old home, the St. Croix plateau. Five years ago, where I am standing now used to curve upwards and flatten out, and on the top of the small plateau was my shelter. The shelter of which I was born in, the shelter of which I grew up in, and the shelter that collapsed as the plateau crumbled away due to erosion. It was claimed by the sea, and my family and I were left homeless. Of course, we had relocated, but a settlement of which one grows up in is one of a kind, and I can't bring myself to respect or appreciate my current home.

Five years, it has been. I suffered while the Earth revolved around the sun _five times_. Why had I not decided to end it sooner? Because I thought I could tough it out. I am ignorant, and I was born that way. All beings are strictly born ignorant, yes, but I _stayed_ ignorant. Finally, I collected enough courage to revisit this cliff and take the coward's way out and finally do myself a favor.

Behind me grew an entire forest of adult pines. They had grown since I was born, and they had towered over me my whole life. Their roots travel throughout the dirt and rocks. Some of the roots extend from the side of the cliff and hang in the air. Sadly, the roots were not strong enough to prevent my home from eroding away. Nonetheless, they had grown stronger since the collapse and now somehow thrive down there, unprotected by dirt. I breathe in the faint aroma of pine sap. I'm going to miss it, but one scent isn't going to stop me from ending this. This is where the roads ends for me.

I glance at the scenery one last time. The beautiful, orange sky is something to appreciate, but again, one view isn't going to stop me from ending this. The ocean reflects the dying sun and brightens the cliff with a yellow, tranquil light. The cliff stretches to each side of me before descending and turning into sandy beach. The waves roar violently thirty feet below.

I wish I had died during childbirth. It would have saved me a lot of trouble. I'm certain it would have saved my father and my brother a lot of trouble. But if I had died during childbirth, then I would have never experienced the magnificent life of living on the old plateau. Yes, my life was perfect when I lived in my old shelter. I was happy-go-lucky and in my own little world, and I was constantly cared for by my parents. Well, they would have to constantly care for their _unstable_ child. But, soon enough, I learned that if I wanted to survive in this cruel, merciless world, I'd have to fend for myself, mental disability or not. Unfortunately, I didn't learn this by being told, but by experiencing it. In my parent's eyes, I had grown up enough to be able to do my owns things without their supervision. What they didn't understand was that you cannot – _cannot_ leave a mentally handicapped individual unsupervised, or else he or she might get a hold of something sharp and kill someone.

I look at the horizon and sigh. "I'm sorry, my father. Be it hard to believe, I still love you regardless of what my actions showed. I was confused and hurt, but most importantly, I was alone. I can't fend for myself, and I am proving that now." I blink and breathe in the pine aroma. Its scent reminds me of my childhood. A tear escapes my eye and falls onto the soft grass. "I'm sorry, little brother," I continue. "I'm sorry I've put you through this. I was jealous because you were the more beloved of the two of us. You were also mentally stable and I envied that tremendously."

I take one last look at the orange sky. I breathe in deeply and exhale. The air is moist and salty. I am about to close my eyes and proceed forward when I see something in my peripheral vision. I turn my head to my left and see another creature walking towards the cliff, not too far from where I stand. It walks on all fours, like me, and has a black and blue, furry coat. At the end of its tail is a golden star-like growth with four points. It has large ears, red eyes, and large tuffs of fur sticking out from its head.

It is a female Luxray. She looks at me and we give each other reassuring nods. She stands on the edge and averts her glance to the rocks at the bottom of the precipice. I continue to look at her. I can't help but feel as though she is here for the same reason I am.

Eventually, she notices me staring at her and walks over until she's a foot away from me. "Are you here to..." her voice trails off when she notices my bloodshot eyes. "Ah," she nods and looks at the ground in sorrow. "Me too."

I look at her in disbelief. Such an elegant and graceful creature, and she wants to end it for herself? "W-Why are you here?" I manage to ask.

"Hah-ohh," the Luxray shrugs and looks off into the sea. "It's a long story. I wouldn't want you to spend your last few moments bored out of your mind." She laughs and looks at me again. She has an awfully exuberant and chirpy personality for someone who is about to end their own life. "What about you?"

"I was born mentally unstable." Of course, this wasn't the only reason, but why even bother exchanging our problems with one another if we're only going to know each other briefly?

"Huh," the Luxray utters, confused. "You don't seem like you're mentally unstable."

"If I shared with you more of my background, you'd think otherwise."

The Luxray shrugs and continues to look at me for a while, making me feel slightly uncomfortable. Finally, she extends her paw. I don't know what to think of this gesture of hers, so I just stare blankly at her paw.

"Do you want to jump at the same time?" she asks.

I have to think to myself for a moment. What an odd question to ask. Although, being with someone else might help put me at ease. I nod and take her paw. She smiles and takes a deep breath. She looks forward and closes her eyes. I do the same.

We walk forward to the best of our ability (walking on only three legs is, in fact, very challenging for four-legged animals). I put my paw down but I don't feel the familiar touch of grass. My paw falls through the air and the rest of my body tumbles forward until my hind legs are no longer in contact with the edge of the cliff. Wind blows through my fur and I fall. I feel the comforting heat from the Luxray's paw, and I feel happy that I am not alone. I smile as I descend, my eyes still closed tightly.

My name is Zeus. I am a Manectric, and I was born with a mental disability due to my mother's temporary iodine deficiency. In 2007, I killed my father and blamed it on my brother, who has been confined and will be for the remainder of his life. If only I knew where he was imprisoned; I would turn myself in and rightfully replace him, but I've been searching for him for five years, with no luck. I'm useless on my own. I'm sorry I couldn't make things right, brother.

I am sorry for the things I have done. My disability is no excuse. My only excuse is the extreme betrayal I felt when my parents told me to live on my own, and I let that betrayal take over my mind on that fateful day, five years ago.

I came to the St. Croix precipice to end my life, and to feel accompanied by my old home. But, I realize that spending time with another being is just as well. I drop through the air with a stranger, paw in paw, and I can't help but think to myself that sharing moments with somebody else can make a huge difference, even if it is your final moments. Being with this stranger, paw in paw, is the exact reason we _don't_ die. Being with this elegant creature has changed my fate, and I have changed hers as well. Us surviving the fall is a sign that we must prevail against the merciless world, and maybe, eventually, we will thrive and bypass our hardships.

My name is Zeus. I am a Manectric, and disability or not, I _will_ prevail.


	2. Theia

I remember when I was four years old, seeing my little brother for the first time. I saw him, a newborn who had just hatched, a small, jumpy Electrike. At first, I thought he would be like me. I thought he would have the same problems as I do, but then I heard him talk. A newborn, _talking_! It's normal for newly hatched animals to speak, but it took me six months to figure out how to use my vocals properly. My brother said the usual incoherent and inaudible syllables that babies would utter, but in spite of that, he _was_ still able to talk!

It was at that point that I realized he was sane, and I was still alone. How dare he? Why does he get to be sane when I'm stuck with impairments? Life is cruel and unfair, that's why.

I spent most of my life ignoring my brother. I tried to keep far away from him at all times because I was jealous of him. I was angry because we were so different. By then, I had evolved and so even our appearances were easily differentiated. One day he was telling me about the adventures he had with his friends. I listened in awe as he told about traveling throughout the lands and exploring caves and such. I was enthralled with his story, but something strange happened to me at that moment. My mood changed suddenly and I was overcome with jealousy and hatred. I tackled him to the ground when he was in mid-sentence. I thrashed and bit at him until he was bleeding. My parents had to pull me from him and send me to my room. I didn't need to be sent to my room, mom and dad. I needed to be sent to a therapist.

These memories and a thousand others flood my mind as I near the bottom of the cliff. I try to remember as much as possible in my last moments of consciousness as if it is a game. I think and wait for the ground to greet me, but it doesn't happen. Instead, my left paw is brought upwards as if it has been caught on something. My body swings to the left and the stranger and I clash. Our decline stalls momentarily as we bounce upwards and release each other's paw. We begin to fall again. My eye's are wide open but my mind is hazy from my collision with the Luxray. I spin through the air, my body twisted and disoriented, before I finally come in contact with the rocks. The rock I land on has been fairly smoothed out from the waves and isn't as jagged as the rest.

I notice a large wave approaching, and so I struggle to stand up, ignoring the splitting pain that shoots throughout my legs. The wave hits me like a bag of bricks and I collapse. I'm still alive? This wasn't supposed to happen.

I stare up at the wall of rock and dirt. There, pointing out from the side of the cliff, is a large, seemingly healthy pine root. It vibrates violently as it hangs in the air. I look at the Luxray to see her getting to her feet, soaking wet. I lift my paw up and look at my wrist. A tiny slash in my fur and skin produces a small amount of blood. It takes me a moment to realize what had happened. Our connected paws had caught on the root, which had slowed our fall. "We need to go!" I call to the stranger as another wave approaches.

She nods and slides off the rock and into the water. I follow her, trying to keep my stance as the waves batter me. I leap into the water with a splash and paddle to the beach by her side. My legs are sore and there's a sharp stinging in my head, but I ignore the pain as best I can. After what seems to be ages, we finally get to the beach. I rest my body on the sand and lay still. The pain in my legs is really kicking in now.

"I think I've dislocated my shoulder," said the Luxray, laying down next to me. "Although, I'd probably be in much more pain so I'm probably fine." She stares at me and smiles. What's wrong with her?

"That didn't work as planned," I say.

She shakes her head. The tufts of black fur on her head sway from side to side. "What happened?"

"We were caught on a branch – or root, rather." I get up and my legs nearly crumple under my weight. I groan and say, "Let's try this again, and let's hurry up; this pain is torturous."

"Wait!" exclaimed the stranger, putting her paw on my shoulder. "Let's not do this. Instead, let's be friends! I've never had a friend before."

That last sentence took me by surprise. Why has she never had a friend before? I thought I was the only animal capable of not having any friends. "Why don't you have friends? Are you ill, like me?"

She laughs and says nothing. She stares at me, smiling.

I sigh and think about her proposal. If I search for my brother, she could help me and my chances of finding him will, perhaps, rise. Or she would just slow me down. No... I'm the slow one here. "What's your name?"

"Theia," she replies.

"Huh. That's a really pretty name." Why did I say that? I have a tendency to speak without thinking. It really frustrates me sometimes.

Theia doesn't seem to be too disgusted by my compliment. In fact, she smirks and thanks me. Normally when I compliment females they laugh at me. "What's your name?" she inquires.

I hesitate before saying, "Zeus."

She nods as if she approves of my name. "It's not as pretty as mine, but I like it."

I laugh. This Luxray is quite the character. I can learn to appreciate her. My legs still hurt, but my headache has subsided. Right now, Theia is the only thing restraining me from going back to the cliff. She's different from my mother. My mother was the only female I talked to very much, so being with Theia is very awkward for me. It is very seldom that I interact, let alone have an entire conversation with a female.

From what my brother has told me, talking to females can be very tricky, depending on who they're like. I guess Theia is just the kind who is nice to everyone, including the disabled and socially awkward.

I'm still a bit confused as to why she wants to be my friend. "Why do you want to be friends? Do you not care about my problem?"

"No, Zeus. Why would anyone care about your problem?"

"Because my problem is what makes me different from everyone else."

Theia closes her eyes and smirks. "There's nothing wrong with being different. Think of it as being shiny. Everyone wishes they were shiny." I'm grateful that she's trying to make me feel better about myself, but her words aren't helping me. "Do you have a home?" she changes the subject. "I don't. Can we go to your house?"

"My mother will give me grief about sneaking out," I reply. "I don't want to go home."

"Then... do you want to travel around with me?"

I stare at her in shock. I was going to ask her if she wanted to help me find my brother, but instead, she just asked _me_ to join _her_. I swallow and nod, still staring at her.

Theia grins and escorts me into the forest. My muscle stings with each step I take, but I'm too overwhelmed by happiness to notice it.

Maybe this is what I needed all along. A friend. A companion.


	3. Ares

"So, Zeus, where do you want to go?"

I look at Theia perplexedly as she walks beside me through the woods, mentally asking myself the same question. Honestly, I don't know. I've searched for my brother far and wide, high and low, just to find nothing, not even a clue of his traces within the county. Dry leaves crumple beneath our feet as we walk. The crisp, crunching sounds of the leaves disturb my thoughts and I can't properly focus on what Theia had asked me, so I stop walking and wait for the Luxray to do the same.

She cocks her head around to give me a questioning look, of which I ignore. How can we find my brother's containment? Well, it'd be a breeze for us if we were humans. It seems as though humans can do anything we can't, nowadays. Sure, they can't breathe fire or generate electricity with their minds, but with their technology, computers, cars, and what-have-you, they can do things that seem so inconceivably preposterous to us with ease, such as locate specific places (prisons for criminally insane Animalia) via '_The Internet_'. If only I could talk to humans and they could understand me. I would have found my brother a long time ago.

"Far away," I finally answer. "Hey, do you know of any homes for the malevolently inclined?"

Theia stares blankly at me.

I sigh and reword the sentence. "Do you know of any jails for animals? Bad animals?"

She shakes her head and continues walking through the forest. Not the answer I was hoping for, but it was the answer I had expected. I follow behind her, closely watching her tail wag about, its cheery movements enthralling me. "You sure have quite the vocabulary for someone with a learning disability."

"I don't have a learning disability," I snap at her. "I'm not dumb or anything. I just get a lot of sudden mood swings, impulses, and neurological abnormalities in general. In addition to that, I have the judgement of a drunkard. There you have it, Theia! My diagnosis!" My outburst has apparently scared the Luxray, who now practically cowers up against a tree. My anger is immediately replaced with guilt. Dammit, I didn't mean to scare her, I just hate it when people mistake me for some kind of idiot. "I'm... so sorry," I say as I approach her.

My god, I have never met such an odd creature in my life. Instead of swatting at me or running away, she simply laughs aloud and apologizes herself. "It's my fault. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

I exhaled, overwhelmed with relief. I stare deep into the Luxray's ruby eyes. My lips are about to curve into a smile when something in the distance catches my attention: Some sort of animal pack. A familiar animal pack, one of which I am not too keen on. Theia gets up and happily trots in the direction of the animals as if she hadn't noticed them. I follow closely behind until the figures are more visible, and my suspicions are confirmed. I'm now certain who these animals are: A Mightyena, a Houndour, and an Absol. An unfamiliar face of a female Linoone flirts with the Mightyena.

No, not these guys... I stop and glare at them, the hair on my back standing on end. Theia keeps on walking, not caring about the horrifying group with the well-known reputation for... well, being complete assholes. If I hesitate any longer, and they notice me, I'll come as scared to them. But, if I continue walking, they'll inevitably notice me and give me a hard time, just like they always do. I stand here, sweating, on a border line of ambiguation. Finally, I shake my head and catch up to Theia, preparing myself for the worst.

As we pass by the group, the Mightyena averts his eyes from the Linoone and affixes them onto me. It was like the very eyes of Baal were evaluating my soul. Stop sweating so much, Zeus. You're no coward!

"Ah! Zeus?" The animal stares at me in disbelief.

I reluctantly return the glance and greet him. "Hello..."

The three dark types look at each other, a sick grin appearing on their ugly faces. I keep on walking but their little schemes of theirs catch my attention.

"Oh, Zeus!" the Houndour squeals, trying to imitate a feminine voice. He isn't talking to me, though, but to the Mightyena, who giggles uncontrollably. "You're such a cutie! It's that time again..." All three burst out laughing. The Absol literally rolls on the ground, dirtying his white fur. The Houndour puts on a strait face, trying to regain composure. "Ahem," he snickers slightly, but then continues. "...So m-mate with me, plea-ea-ease?"

That is too much for them. They, once again, burst out into hysterics. Aye... So they're making fun of me for _that_ again... The Mightyena stands up tall and looks at the Houndour as his laughing ceases. He puffs up his cheeks, uttering weird, gaggy noises. "Hmph... Hrp! Gluh..." He pretends to vomit onto the grass and continues to cackle with the rest of his group. Even the Linoone giggles in amusement.

The Absol stands up, collecting himself, and clears his throat, looking at me. "So, how's our retard doing these days?"

I've seen these guys pick on other, smaller animals plenty of times. In fact, almost every time I see them, they're picking on someone. Uncreative bullies like them usually use words to antagonize their prey, not actions, which is fortunate for me. They could have me screaming 'uncle' in mere seconds, without a doubt. Their insults usually go along the lines of single words such as '_faggot_' or '_retard_', but 95 percent of the time their prey isn't actually gay or retarded. I _could_ be colloquially considered retarded, but that would go against the actually technical definition of the word. I _only_ have a minor mental defect, so that word, used to offend people such as myself, enrages me. Of course, it doesn't anger me enough to do anything about it. I couldn't retort to these guys no matter how mad they make me. All I can do is stand here and look at the group, my eyes signifying pleads for mercy.

"Where's your mother, Zeus?" asks the Mightyena solemnly. "She's probably worried sick. You're supposed to be home at this time."

Theia now stands beside me and dagger-eyes the group. "Who the hell are you punks?" She turns to me, whispering, "Are they making fun of you or something?"

"Oh, Zeus," the Houndour chuckles. "Who is this? Your bodyguard?"

Way to make me look even more pathetic than I already am, Theia.

"Leave him alone, guys," Theia orders.

She receives a surprised and amused look from the Mightyena. "Mm, hey babe," he coos. The Linoone scowls at this. He turns around to give her an assuring smirk. "Relax, hun. You'll always be my number one." I can't help but roll my eyes in disgust. Luckily, no one notices.

"Sickos," the Luxray turns to me. "Let's go, Zeus." I follow closely behind her as she walks deeper into the forest. I can feel the group's eyes on me, but I don't dare turn around. A cool, Autumn wind blows by, pulling red and yellow leaves from their trees and causing me to shiver. "Who were those guys?"

"Ares, Erebos, and Hades," I reply, plaintively. "The locals..."


End file.
